Bitmine Immersion Technologies has purchased another 12,535 Ethereum tokens worth about $30 million, extending its weekly buying streak and taking its holdings to 6,041,481 ETH. The NYSE-listed company now controls about 4.9% of Ethereum’s total supply and says it is 99% of the way toward its “Alchemy of 5%” objective. According to Decrypt, the latest purchase came as a broad selloff pushed crypto prices lower and Bitmine neared the end of its accumulation strategy.
Bitmine closes in on its Ethereum goal
At a reference price of $2,365 per ETH, Bitmine’s Ethereum holdings were valued at approximately $14.3 billion. The company said that represented 4.9% of Ethereum’s 122.1 million-token supply.
Bitmine launched its Ethereum treasury strategy on June 30, 2025, and has bought ETH every week since then. Chairman Tom Lee has said the company intends to stop accumulating once it reaches ownership of 5% of the network. The company describes that goal as the “Alchemy of 5%,” which it says it has pursued over a 15-month period.
The value of the company’s existing ETH holdings has fallen below its average acquisition levels as Ethereum trades below its recent highs. Bitmine nevertheless continued its scheduled purchase during the market downturn.
Lee points to broader risk aversion
Lee attributed the recent weakness in crypto markets to a wider reduction in investor appetite for risk. The factors he cited included concerns about artificial-intelligence funding and model safety, rising tensions between the United States and Iran, uncertainty surrounding midterm elections and higher global bond yields.
He also pointed to declines in AI and semiconductor shares in markets including South Korea and Taiwan, where cryptocurrency ownership is widespread. In his view, the pressure in those markets spilled over into digital assets. Lee characterized the decline as a historically attractive risk-reward opportunity while underlying fundamentals remain strong.
Bitmine remains the largest Ethereum treasury
Bitmine said its total holdings reached $15.1 billion as of October 18 when cash, other digital assets and its listed investments are included. The holdings consisted of:
- 215 Bitcoin;
- $582 million in cash and marketable securities;
- a $180 million stake in Beast Industries; and
- a $74 million position in Eightco Holdings, which Bitmine describes as an indirect public-market proxy for OpenAI exposure.
The company remains the world’s largest Ethereum treasury and the second-largest crypto treasury overall, behind Michael Saylor’s Strategy. Strategy holds about 848,250 Bitcoin and recently bought another $22 million of the cryptocurrency while repurchasing preferred stock.
Bitmine has staked 5,067,309 ETH through its MAVAN platform, equal to about 84% of its holdings. The company projects annualized revenue of roughly $309 million from that staked position.
Current market picture
Moneyiar market data at 22:24 on October 19, 2026, showed Ethereum at $2,408.33, up 0.78% over 24 hours but down 3.11% over seven days. Shiba Inu was at $0.0000050209, Uniswap at $7.33 and NEAR Protocol at $4.96. Over the same periods, SHIB rose 2.14% daily and fell 3.86% weekly; UNI gained 3.18% daily and 1.60% weekly; and NEAR rose 1.44% daily but declined 4.31% over seven days.
